Original Vengeance
by livialovesdelena
Summary: Caroline had gone missing almost one year ago. Klaus had searched tirelessly, but in the back of his mind he knew it was possible she just didn't want to be found. Until today. Klaus had all but given up when his beautiful Caroline showed up on his door step, someone had found Klaus' only weakness in this human girl and Klaus would move heaven and earth to exact his revenge!
1. Saving You to Save Myself

**I do not own the Vampire Diaries or The Originals. No Copyright infringement intended.**

I was going through Liv's notes as I worked on her chapters for the Sire Bond and found a series of notes for a Klaroline story she had been meaning to write. Something within her notes inspired me to sit down and write this chapter. I hope you like it.

As for the Sire Bond, I do plan to finish it. I am just having a hard time editing her words. I don't want to change a thing, but she wasn't 100% when she was writing them, so they still need some work. I promise I'll get to it. I really will, but for now, I'll give you the next best thing...the story she wanted to tell for Klaroline. She did not write this, I did based on a series of notes I found last night regarding her idea...so I hope that I can do her ideas justice. Obviously, some of the things mentioned in this story had not happened while Liv was still with us...but I think she would have liked how the season ended up :)

Much Love, Erin

**In this story, Caroline was never killed with Damon's blood in her system. So she is human and she has lived a normal human existence up to this point. Her relationship with Klaus is much the same as it has been on the show.**

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It had been a year since Klaus had last laid eyes on Caroline Forbes, the young human who had managed to bring out the scrap of humanity that he'd kept hidden so well. She made him want to be a better man, but since her disappearance...he'd been anything but. He'd fed his way across the country in search of her, his rage growing everytime she managed to escape and disappear without a trace once again.

Klaus had looked tirelessly for Caroline. He knew she would most likely never want to see him, but he couldn't stop until he found her. Until she looked into his eyes and told him that she didn't want him. He wasn't going to let her just run away without a goodbye, or at least he'd thought that was the plan, until everything changed.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Klaus had all but given up when he returned to his estate in Mystic Falls. He'd managed to catch her scent on dozens of occasions, but she'd always been just beyond his reach. He was exhausted, and he was finally starting to think she really didn't want to be found. For the first time in his long existence, Klaus was on the verge of giving up.

The house was dark, but his eyes didn't need the light as he climbed the stairs and entered his bedroom. He wandered into his bathroom and let the water run into the bath. As the water warmed, Klaus sped down the stairs and poured himself a glass of his finest boubon. As he lifted the glass, he caught a sweet scent that put his body on high alert.

It was a scent he knew well, but this time it permeated his senses with a new potency. It was her. It had to be. He never even heard the glass as it shattered against the hard wood floor. He didn't hear the water as it spilled over the edge of the tub either. The only thing he heard was a faint heart beat and on single whispered plea, "Klaus."

He was frantic as he listened for the heart beat to call out to him again, but it didn't so he rushed to the door and flung it open so hard the hinges cried out under the strain. The pungent scent assaulted his sense instantly as his eyes flashed yellow and his fangs dropped, but they disappeared as quickly as they came when he saw her.

Laying across the steps outside of his door was a sight he'd been certain he'd never see again.

"After all this time, I was starting to think you didn't want to be found, love." Klaus said as he walked towards her.

He'd expected some sort of sassy retort, but she didn't even look in his direction. As he moved closer, her scent became stronger. Too strong. She was injured.

"Caroline?" Klaus said as he carefully touched her shoulder.

Again, no answer. If he'd had a heart beat, it would be pounding frantically in his chest right now.

"Please look at me, love." He whispered as he gently eased her onto her back.

His whole body tensed as he looked at her bruised and battered skin. Her eyes were empty as she stared back at him.

"Caroline?" He shouted as panic touched him for the first time he could recall in his long life.

It receeded only slightly when he heard her gasp a second later.

"It's okay Caroline. I've got you, love." He whispered as he carefully lifted her into his arms.

She whimpered softly as he stood up with her and walked into his house and sped up the stairs setting her on his bed. He quickly shut off the water he'd left running and grabbed a wash cloth dipping it in the warm soapy water that had been overflowing moments ago. He rung it out and carried it back into the bedroom.

Caroline was curled into herself on his bed looking thin and frail. It went completely against the confident, brazen young woman he'd known. He needed to help her.

"Caroline, let me clean you up. I can help you." He whispered as he reached for her only to have her flinch away from him.

"Please, love. I just need to see if there is anything that might require medical attention. Or, I can give you my blood." He whispered.

As the last words left his mouth, her eyes opened and stared up at him with recognition. He smiled, thankful that she wasn't recoiling from him anymore.

"Please love, let me take a look." Klaus said as he brushed her hair back.

Rage clawed back as he saw a three inch gash near her left temple surrounded by bruises in various stages of healing. She'd been beaten...on more than one occasion. That thought strengthened his resolve to assess her injuries carefully.

When she fought against him, Klaus looked into her eyes and said, "Caroline, you are going to let me look you over. I won't harm you. Please let me help you."

He watched as her eyes dialated and she gave a small nod. He hated having to compel her, and he knew she would be livid if she figured it out, but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to care. All he wanted was to see how badly she was injured so that he could do whatever was needed to fix her.

"That's it, love. I won't hurt you." He whispered as she leaned back on the bed enabling him to get a better look.

He took the damp cloth and wiped the blood and dirt from her face revealing countless bruises. He opted to move on to her arms in the hopes of containing the dark rage that was bubbling to the surface, but as he refocused his attention he noticed bite marks that marred her perfect skin. A vampire was responsible for her injuries.

Klaus pushed this new knowledge to the back of his mind as he wiped the dirt and grime from her skin when he came to the angry red marks that circled her wrists. She'd been held against her will and now he knew she hadn't disappeared on her own. She'd been taken.

"Caroline, would you like for me to call Bonnie or Elena? Perhaps you'd be more comfortable if they assessed your injuries from here?" He asked once he'd assessed everything he could see without removing her clothes.

"No! Please. I don't want them to see me like this." She said as a single tear slipped downher cheek.

Klaus caught the tear and said, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I can't take a chance with your injuries."

Caroline stared passed him as she winced and pulled her t-shirt from her body. Under different circumstances, Klaus may have had an entirely different reaction to seeing the expanse of flesh before him, but at the moment...all he saw was the deep purple bruise that cradled the left side of her rib cage and the gaping hole that fell in the center of it.

In an instant, Klaus tore open his own flesh and held it to Caroline's mouth. She pulled back, but he held firm as he ran his fingers through her hair and whispered, "Please Caroline. You need to drink."

A moment later, she began to pull greedily at his blood. Klaus watched the bruise slowly receed, but as soon as she stopped drinking it began to expand again.

He looked into her eyes as they started to drift closed before he whispered, "No, love. You have to stay with me. Open your eyes!"

He knew what was going to happen. He was certain that the damage had been too great as he watched the bruising bloom and spread across her abdomen moments before he felt her take her last breath, and now, she would be doomed to live the life of the beast she had abhorred. She would wake up, but she would wake a vampire.

Klaus was distraught. He knew that this was something he had selfishly wanted for her, but at the same time he had so enjoyed the vibrant and lively young woman he had come to love. Truth be told, he was uncertain of who she would be when she woke as a vampire. What's worse, he knew she would wake with a much clearer memory of what had happened to her, and that was the one thing he would never wish upon her. Whatever had happened, he knew it had been horrific and he vowed to find and dismemeber anyone who had a hand in harming her.

Klaus decided that he didn't want her to wake up to the dirt and grime covering her flesh, so he walked into the bathroom and cleaned up the water before running a new bath with some bath salts he'd recovered from Rebekah's room. Once the water had reached the perfect temperature, he carried Caroline into the bathroom and carefully removed the tattered remains of her clothing uncovering bites, burns and raised broken flesh.

His thoughts turned murderous as he ran his fingers over a particularly nasty lash that had broken her flesh.

"I'm so sorry, love. I'm so sorry." He whispered as he gently lowered her into the bath and worked to remove the dirt and filth that covered her.

Klaus had worked hard to keep his inpection clinical as he watched each wound close and heal. She would wake soon, and she would remember everything. Surely, she had been compelled to forget much of what had gone on, and he wished like hell that he could compel her to forget again, but he vowed to let her make that choice. He wouldn't force her to forget.

As the water began to cool, Klaus lifted her from the tub and dried her skin that had returned to the perfect porcelain skin he'd remembered. He dressed her in a pair of yoga pants and a tank he'd taken from his sister and laid her back in his bed as he made his way downstairs to get some tea, a glass of bourbon and some blood hoping that one of those would do the trick when she woke.

When he returned, Caroline was no longer lying in his bed, but crouched in the corner shuddering in fear.

"It's okay, love. You're safe." He whispered as he approached only to watch her curl tighter into herself.

"I won't hurt you." He whispered as he reached for her.

In an instant she turned and lunged at him teeth bared and sunk her teeth into his flesh. The instant his blood coated her tongue, she flew back against the wall and cried, "Klaus! What's happening to me? How did I get here?"

"I'm so sorry love. I tried to heal you. I tried." Klaus whispered.

"You tried, I don't understand." Caroline said as she looked at her skin expecting to see the various bites and bruises.

Confusion dawned on her pretty face as she looked at Klaus once more, and then she looked at the tray sitting on the other side of the room with several glasses. She felt herself salivating as she smelled the blood that was calling to her.

"No." She shouted. "No. I can't. You should have let me die!"

"I didn't know how bad your injuries were. I just wanted to help you heal."

"I'm like him now." She said. "He killed me, and now I'm going to be like him!"

"Who, love. Who did this to you?"

Klaus wanted to know, he was desperate to deliver his own brand of justice to the monster who dared to hurt his precious Caroline.

"He said you would know if I told you he's the King." She answered.

"The King of what?"

"New Orleans…" She said as she cried against his chest.

It took everything Klaus had not to crush her under his rage when he growled, "Marcel!"


	2. Sight For Sore Eyes

**I do not own TVD or The Originals. No copyright infringement intended!**

As many of you have learned, I haven't written on for quite some time, but something in Liv's notes caught my attention and inspired me to jump back in. I hope that you'll enjoy it, too.

While there may be some things that are canon, I don't plan on sticking to events exactly as they occurred especially since we know virtually nothing about Marcel and his relationship with Klaus...but that's the beauty of fiction it can go anywhere.

With that said, thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following!

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Caroline looked up at Klaus and saw his fangs protrude and his eyes flash yellow as he growled her captors name.

"Marcel."

She tried to escape his grasp as fear cascaded over her, but Klaus quickly shuttered his rage.

"I'm sorry love. I won't hurt you." He crooned as he rested his chin against her head and rubbed his hand carefully over her back.

When Caroline relaxed again, he quietly asked for more information.

"When did he take you? Do you remember where you were?"

"He took me the night Tyler and I broke up. I was upset, so I went for a drive. I parked out near Wickery Bridge and I was going to send you a text...but, then he approached me. When I came to, I was in a dark room, but I could here the sounds of a city around me. It wasn't until later that I learned where I'd been taken."

"He took you right to New Orleans?" Klaus asked as calmly as he could, so as not to alarm her.

"I think so. I don't remember the trip at all." Caroline explained.

"And you've been there for a year?" He asked with the calm in his voice fading.

"What!? No...I was only gone for a few weeks!" She answered as panic started to break the surface again.

"Were you drinking vervain when he took you?"

"Of course. You've met my mother, right?" Caroline said looking as if he'd sprouted a second head.

"And you don't remember anything between the first time you saw Marcel and when you discovered you were in New Orleans?"

"No?" She said, though it came out as more of a question than a statement.

"Oh god! Have I really been gone for a year? What must my mom think? How come no one came looking for me?" She wondered aloud.

Klaus could feel the rage simmering in his gut. He was downright murderous, but he was doing everything he could to tamp it down, in order to keep her calm.

"Caroline, I looked EVERYWHERE for you. Your mother even helped me, and you know she's not my biggest fan. You had just vanished, and every time I thought I was on the right track, every trace would just disappear."

"No. No! Just NO! I would know if I'd been gone for a year!" She said as she pulled her knees into her chest and began to rock back and forth. "I want to see my mom!"

"You need to calm down, love. This isn't good for you, and you need to feed. You can't see your mother until you feed." Klaus reasoned.

In an instant, she went from panic back to the tears...Klaus realized in that moment he preferred the panic to the tears.

"Please, love. Drink this." Klaus said as he picked up the glass that held the intoxicating blood she had smelled earlier.

"What if I don't?" She asked.

Klaus felt his own panic rise again as he considered losing her, just as she was returned to him.

"I could make you." Klaus said softly as he avoided her eyes.

"When I first met you, I might have believed that...but not anymore."

"You'd be surprised, love. I was starting to think I'd never see you again, and then there you were on my doorstep. Right about now, I think I'd do anything to keep you." He whispered.

Klaus knew full well that he would force her to drink, if it became necessary.

"I don't believe you would hurt me, regardless of what I know you are capable of."

Klaus simply nodded. He didn't want to get into a discussion of his past transgressions now. He didn't want to bring more fear when he had been a source of comfort, even if it wasn't meant to last.

"Love, I need you to feed. You are still healing and I'm not prepared to watch you die on me twice in a matter of hours. Please. I won't let you hurt anyone that doesn't deserve hurting. I give you my word." Klaus said as he handed her the glass.

"If you prefer, I'm sure I could get Stefan over here to hunt with you. Though, even he'll tell you that you will have to know what it's like to crave human blood, before you can really commit to an alternative. A very smart blonde once told me that I could take what I needed without killing." Klaus said before he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "She was right you know."

"I remember that!" Caroline practically shouted with pure joy.

It hurt him to know that whatever gaps she had in her memory wouldn't stay forgotten for long. And Klaus knew that there wouldn't be a single memory that brought her joy from the last year.

"Would you like for me to call Stefan, love?"

"You would do that for me?"

"Only for you. I abhor the thought of drinking from an overgrown rodent with long ears...no matter how adorable they are."

Caroline smiled at his disdain and whispered, "Please, I'd like to see him. My mom, too."

Klaus looked slightly dejected, but he picked up the phone to call Stefan and started to walk into the hallway.

"I'll drink it. I don't want to die. Just promise me that you won't let me hurt anyone, Klaus."

"I can't guarantee you'll never hurt anyone, but I will do my best, love."

Caroline wanted to sip at the blood, but the second it bathed her tongue she gulped it down greedily.

Klaus took the glass and said, "I'll call Stefan, then we can call your mother together. Okay, love?"

Caroline nodded as she stood and walked over to the mirror.

He watched her for a minute before he pressed send and headed down to the stairs to give her a few moments to herself.

A second or two later, Stefan answered, "Klaus, I have no idea where Katherine is."

"I don't care where Katherine is. I don't need her anymore. Caroline is here."

"She's what? Where has she been? Is she okay?" Stefan shouted somewhere between astonishment and excitement.

"She turned up on my doorstep an hour ago, but..."

"Does Sheriff Forbes know?" Stefan interrupted.

"No. I haven't called her yet. I really need you to see her before we call."

"Okay...can I ask why?" Stefan asked.

"She needs help, the kind of help I'm afraid only you can offer."

"What could I possibly do for….she's been turned, hasn't she?" Stefan said as he finally understood why Klaus would even bother to call him.

"I never intended for that to happen…."

"You turned her!" Stefan roared.

"Stefan, I had little choice. She was right here, and her injuries were so severe. I thought I could help her, heal her...but it wasn't enough. I fed her my blood before I saw the worst of her wounds. I watched it recede as she fed, but the moment she stopped I watched every mark begin to return. Without my blood, we would be calling her mother to plan her funeral. Now, I know Sheriff Forbes isn't a fan of our kind, or my family, but I'd like to believe Caroline in any "living" form is better than the hollow shell of a girl that ended up on my doorstep dying, just an hour ago!"

"Sheriff Forbes is far more accepting of vampires since you took it upon yourself to find her daughter." Stefan said into the phone moments before Klaus swung the front door open for him.

"She might not feel that way when I tell her that Caroline might have been taken because of me."

"How do you figure?"

"She was taken by a vampire. He told her he was the King of New Orleans. He told her to tell ME that he was the King of New Orleans."

"And this means something to you?" Stefan asked.

"It means that one of the vampires I sired so many years ago has decided to stage a coup. This was a message for me. He hurt her, tortured her and branded her with his bite and it was all to get to me."

"He knows you can't be killed...does he know that you are also a hybrid?"

"I'm not certain, but I'll be sure to ask him as I remove every bone in his body before I RIP his heart from his chest!" Klaus growled.

"Caroline is going to need to feed. So, let's put the vengeance on a shelf for the time being. She needs you more than you need to end this….does this King of New Orleans have a name?" Stefan asked.

"His name is Marcel."

Stefan nodded as he handed Klaus a cooler.

"What's this?"

"I know you don't keep much blood on hand for such an occasion, since you prefer to drink from something with a pulse. So, I brought you a few dozen blood bags."

"I thought maybe she'd prefer to hunt with you."

"As much as I'd like to get her on an animal diet, you and I both know she needs to get her cravings under control before she can see her mother. This is the best way."

Klaus nodded as he led the way up to his room with Stefan following behind. They paused outside of his door as Stefan said, "What does she remember?"

"Nothing so far. She remembers the fear, but nothing else...not even how she ended up on my door step."

"She was compelled?"

Klaus nodded as he said, "She thought she'd been gone a few days, Stefan."

"You know it's all going to come flooding back once she makes it through the transition." Stefan said solemnly.

Klaus nodded again, knowing whatever she remembered was going to be painful for her and for everyone who cared about her.

His fingers closed over the door knob just as he heard a blood curdling scream.

"Klaus!" Caroline wailed.

He and Stefan flew into the room and saw Caroline curled up in front of the now broken mirror in his bathroom. Blood covered her hands and splattered against her pale skin. For the first time that Klaus could recall he wanted to cry as he witnessed the only woman he'd give anything to protect shatter before his very eyes.

He fell to his knees beside her and lifted her shaking frame into his arms. Her eyes were haunted as fat tears clung to her lashes and spilled down her cheeks while she gasped for a breath that she didn't require any longer.

In that moment, he was certain that Marcel had managed to pull his heart from his chest without ever laying a finger on him. He watched in horror as this precious creature lay crying in his arms, reliving each and every bite. Klaus knew it was possible that her wounds were far worse than those which had prominently marked her skin. She had survived, but he could see the pain flash over her as she watched the memories like a bad horror movie.

After what seemed an eternity, her features relaxed as her body went still. He knew she'd endured all she could, and now they would have to wait and see how she came out of it.

He gently lifted her from the floor and carried her to his bed where Stefan helped wiped the remnants of blood from her hands, which had already begun to heal. Once that was done, Stefan pulled a blood bag from the cooler and held it to her lips watching as she hungrily gulped down its contents.

Stefan discarded the empty bag as Caroline curled in on herself. Klaus looked almost as broken as Caroline, it was a sight that he'd never expected to see from the hybrid he'd always known as selfish and cold as ice.

As the pair moved towards the door, they heard Caroline stir. Her voice was so soft, they would never have heard it if they'd been human.

"I want my mom."

"Anything, love." Klaus answered as he left Stefan standing in the doorway and disappeared into the night.

Not ten minutes later, Stefan heard a car pull into the drive.

Stefan watched as Klaus walked through the door with Sheriff Forbes in tow. The woman had always been brave beyond what was reasonable for someone in her position in a town full of supernatural beings, but in this moment he saw her in a whole new light.

"Caroline?" She whispered as she walked slowly towards her daughter.

Her hands shook as she reached out for her and tears fell freely from her cheeks the second she touched her daughter.

"Mom?" Caroline cried as she turned around and flung her arms around her neck.

"I'm so sorry, mom." Caroline whispered.

"It's okay Caroline. I'm here."

In an instant, Caroline's eyes turned as black as an oil slick, black veins crept over her cheeks and her fangs erupted from her gums.

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Yes, this was mean...I know. I promise the pay off will be worth it :)

Hope you like where it's going so far! And thank you to everyone who has read and especially those who have taken the time to review. Love you guys :)

Erin


	3. Last Kiss

**I do not own The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. No infringement intended.**

Thought I'd take a page from Liv's book as I'm listening to her iPod. So, I'm choosing a song for this chapter :) Hard to believe she's been gone for 4 months. Anyway, it would have been her birthday next week...so I've been thinking a lot about her and I wanted to update both stories, since that is the only thing I can give her now :)

Miss her still everyday. But, really happy to have known her. For those of you who never read Liv's story, The Sire Bond...please check it out. She was a great friend, and I am writing this story for her...and finishing that story, too :)

For those of you who did know her, you already know her story and how this story was inspired by a story she had always planned to write. Love ya Liv...and Happy Birthday.

And thanks to all of you who still follow her stories, she loved writing them so much :)

xoxo

Erin

*****Be warned, there are some dark themes implied here as Caroline's memories of her time with Marcel that he compelled her to forget start to return...**

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_All that I know is_

_I don't know how to be something you miss_

_I never thought we'd have a last kiss_

_Never imagined we'd end like this_

_Your name, forever the name on my lips_

_I do remember the swing of your step_

_The life of the party, you're showing off again_

_And I roll my eyes and then_

_You pull me in_

_I'm not much for dancing_

_But for you I did_

_Because I love your handshake, meeting my father_

_I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets_

_How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something_

_There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions _

_Last Kiss by Taylor Swift (In this instance I prefer the cover by Boyce Avenue...give it a listen)._

Klaus intervened just before her teeth broke the skin and dragged Caroline back against his chest, her teeth snapping through the air. Stefan quickly threw a blood bag in their general direction and grabbed Sheriff Forbes before she fell back from the force of their supernatural intervention.

"There had to be a better way for you to break her in, love." Klaus whispered as he smoother her hair back from her face.

"She...she looked so scared. I...I didn't think." Sheriff Forbes said as she fought back tears while looking at her daughter who was now filled with remorse.

"I'm so sorry." She cried as she turned into Klaus' shoulder. "You should have let me die."

"That wasn't an option. I just got you back." He whispered.

"No, Care. I couldn't handle losing you forever." Her mom answered as she approached again, more slowly this time.

Caroline turned back towards her mom as she reached out again, "Wait."

Klaus handed her a blood bag and watched as Caroline walked into the bathroom to consume it. When she returned the veins had receded and her eyes had returned to the ocean blue that he had missed so much since she disappeared. Their vibrancy was beginning to return as her transition progressed.

"There's my baby girl." Sheriff Forbes whispered as she carefully approached her daughter again.

"I missed you, Mommy." Caroline whimpered as she clung to her mother and let the tears fall.

"What happened sweetheart?" She asked.

"I can't. It's not all there yet, but I can't tell you. I'm sorry mom."

"It's okay, Care. We have all the time in the world, I'm just so happy to see you alive."

Caroline began to cry again as she heard that one word and said so softly it was barely audible, "I'm not….alive."

"You are here, love. Alive or not, you are wanted….needed, here." Klaus whispered as he approached the mother and daughter.

Sheriff Forbes mouthed the words, "thank you" to Klaus as she hugged her daughter closer.

"Mom, I need to go. I need to…I don't want to hurt you." Caroline said as she pushed back from her.

"I understand. Stefan, could you walk me out. I'll come back tomorrow, and you are always welcome to come home, Care." She said as she turned to leave the room.

"I love you, mom." Caroline said as tears threatened to fall again.

"I love you, too." She answered as she slowly made her way out of the room and down the stairs to talk with Stefan.

Caroline turned back to Klaus as her tears fell in torrents. He knew that asking her mom to leave had cost her more than she'd let on. He wanted so badly to ease the discomfort and pain that came along with a forced transition. Make no mistake, transitioning was no easy task even if it was chosen...but Klaus knew her transtition would be made more difficult by the memories that would undoubtedly filter in over the next 48 hours.

"Care, have you remembered anything yet?" Klaus whispered as he followed her line of sight to the doorway that led into his stduio.

She nodded, it was barely visible but he knew that was all the confirmation he was going to get.

"May I?" She asked as she ran her fingers over the crystal door knob.

"My home is completely open to you, love. Go wherever you wish." Klaus said as his fingers closed over hers and pushed the door open.

His fingers easily found the switch on the wall as the diffused lighting filtered in around the room. He left the overhead lighting off unless he was working. He could feel something akin to anxiety creep over him as he watched her eyes widen when she took in dozens of paintings that bore her image.

He watched carefully as her delicate fingers ghosted over the canvas that sat half finished in the center of the room. They never really touched the piece, but her eyes when she glanced back at him touched a part of him he'd thought long dead. His heart. There was pain there, something below the surface that she wasn't ready to share with him...but there was also something else. Something more.

"You did all of these….from….memory?" She asked so softly that he might have imagined it.

"You're image was tattooed onto my heart the very moment I first saw you, love. You have been with me everyday since." He finished as he laid a hand over his heart.

She smiled before she turned back to look at the next painting. This one was finished. It was a beautiful picture done in blues and greys. There was young girl who looked so far away from who she saw in the mirror as she smiled back at her, but Caroline still recognized herself as Klaus remembered her.

In the background, a wolf with golden eyes looked on from above. He looked lost, broken somehow, it was a look she was painfully familiar with. A look she'd seen on her own face everyday.

As Caroline let her fingers caress the wolf, Klaus felt it as if they lingered over his own skin. Her eyes found his and she couldn't help but notice the shame that made his blue eyes look stormy.

As he watched her for signs of distress, he eased closer until his fingers slid under the veil of hair that fell over her shoulder. She gasped as his eyes flashed when he came across the raised scars at the base of her neck and a low growl resonated from deep in his belly as he whispered, "I let you down. I should have found you. Protected you."

"You were here when I needed you." She said as she ran her thumb over his lips and whispered, "I like it better when you smile at me."

In that one instant, the beast settled back beneath the surface and he gave her what she needed.

"Will you tell me what you remember?" He asked as he pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I can't remember everything. I hope I never do." She stated.

"I wish you didn't have to, but as you transition any memories that were compelled away are going to come back, love."

"No." She cried. "I don't want to remember."

Klaus watched helplessly as she turned away and walked to the nearby window. She stared broken and tortured at the moon that now hung low in the sky. A gentle reminder that it was time for him to deal with the issues that daylight would surely bring.

He continued to watch as he pulled out his phone and texted Stefan. He knew that the Salvatore's would have better luck convincing the witch to create a daylight ring, since Caroline wasn't quite ready to accept guests just yet. Of course, if he'd told Bonnie that it was for Caroline she'd help in a heartbeat, but she'd also probably stake Klaus for turning her. Not that staking him would accomplish much being that he was an original.

Once he got a response from Stefan, he walked over towards the window and looked out at the golden moon that hung just above the tree line that lined the manor.

"It's beautiful." She whispered.

"You say that like you haven't seen the moon in years."

"I haven't." She answered with a bit of shock.

Klaus knew her memories were going to come crashing down at any time. They had started to filter in, but there always came a point when every single memory dropped on a new vampire like a ten ton weight. For most, the memories they'd been compelled to forget were fairly innocuous, but he was certain that Caroline's memories would be anything but.

When he noticed the moon had fallen in closer to the tree line, he eased Caroline back from the window and let the heavy curtains fall back into place.

"Come on love, you should get some rest. The world will still be here when you wake up." He whispered as he guided her back to his bed.

"Will you be?"

"Will I be?" He asked.

"Here."

"Yes. I'll be right here." He said as he moved to sit in the chair that sat beside the marble and stone fireplace across the room.

"No, please...I've been alone for so long. Would you just…"

Caroline stopped just shy of asking, but he knew when she held up the corner of the down comforter that she was asking him to stay with her. So, Klaus stepped out of his shoes and crawled into the bed beside her. A moment later, she placed her arm over his stomach and her head over his heart that he swore started to beat again.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Klaus woke a few hours later to an unholy shriek he'd hoped wouldn't come, but deep down he knew what it meant. Caroline shot up off the bed and shrank into the corner shaking with fear. Her memories had just fallen like heavy shrapnel after a blast.

"Caroline?" Klaus said as he carefully approached her.

"No. No." She cried as she turned in on herself even tighter and slunk deeper into the shadows the dark corner had offered.

"It's okay, love. You're safe here."

"No. You're not real. Please, just kill me and stop torturing me with something that I'll never have Marcel!" She shouted as he back stiffened.

"Caroline, I'm right here. Please believe me. This isn't some cruel trick. You are free." Klaus pled.

"No. You aren't real. I know what you're doing Marcel. I remember!" She shouted as she struck out at him.

Klaus felt a wash of emotions ranging from blinding rage to agonizing heartbreak as he realizes that Marcel had used compulsion to lull Caroline long enough to attack and break her. He knew already that Caroline had been taken to get at him, but he never thought Marcel would have used him against her.

That thought brought on the thoughts as to why he might have done that. What had he gained in doing so? Did Marcel use him to quiet her when she fought back? Caroline had always been a fighter, it was one of the things that fascinated him. Or was there another purpose?

Klaus reached out and brushed his knuckles softly against her cheek before brushing her hair back off her face.

"Caroline, Love. I'm real. See?" He said as he lifted her hand and placed it against his cheek.

When her fingers ghosted over his skin and her eyes locked with his the tears began to flood her beautiful blue eyes. Klaus saw the recognition there just before she threw herself into his arms. His shirt grew damp as her tears soaked through, but he couldn't be bothered to care as he held tight to the sobbing woman in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline. I'm so sorry." He crooned as he rubbed his hands over her back.

"So many times, so many times I hoped it was you. Everytime I would touch you, he pulled back the compulsion and I found myself staring into Marcel's soulless eyes, or the eyes of one of his men. You were never really there. Please tell me that this isn't another twisted trick. Please Klaus. It's too cruel. I just wanted to die. I waited for them to kill me, but everytime they came close they would just heal me and start over."

"Shh. You don't have to worry. I'm really here. I won't let anything else happen to you."

"Klaus, I thought he was you. I...He...He used you to gain my trust."

"I know love. I'm so sorry that knowing me has once again brought you pain. I wish I had been strong enough to leave you alone when we met, but you were always impossible for me to resist." He said with a sad smile.

"I remember everything. I remember why his compulsion never lasted long enough for him to do what he planned."

"Why is that? What did he have planned?" Klaus asked.

"He tried to use my feelings for you to….to…." Caroline shook the memory off before she spoke up again, "His compulsion never lasted beyond this."

Klaus was confused until her lips crashed against his and suddenly his fingers threaded into her hair as he pour all of the pain, anger, relief and love he had into this single kiss.

When they broke apart, he was breathless even though it had been over a thousand years since he'd actually needed to breathe.

"He tricked me, but everytime he kissed me it never felt like that. Like the kiss you gave me that night. The kiss that made me forget about Tyler. Up to that point, I had always been able to deny what I felt for you. I could call you a monster and still believe it, but that night you kissed me and I knew that was just an excuse. I ran. I needed to clear my head, but if I'd stayed…If I'd stayed….." She said as she realized she ran from Klaus because she thought he'd hurt her, and because of her fears Marcel had done far worse than Klaus ever could.

"Caroline, why did he try and trick you?" Klaus asked afraid of the answer she would give.

"Because he wanted me to think that it was you who had held me captive. That it was you who hurt me day after day." She answered as she stared at her hands that were twisting in her lap.

"And you didn't? Believe him that is."

"I did. I always did. I believed it was you. I saw you. I heard you. I felt your teeth break my skin, and your hands clamped bruisingly around my wrists. I believed it all." She said as his heart broke knowing he'd done all of those things to her leaving her no way to dispute what Marcel had wanted her to believe.

"I believed it all until Marcel kissed me. That was the one thing that he couldn't make me believe. Every time, I would remember what I thought would be our last kiss, and the way you made me feel. When he kissed me, I knew it was all a lie. And then I fought." She said.

Pride swelled as Klaus thought about the pretty, fragile human she'd been fighting a battle she knew she could never have won, but she fought anyway. It was one of the things he loved most about her.

"Caroline, what happened when you fought?" He asked.

"I lost, everytime, but he didn't win." She said with a sad smile.

Klaus looked at her with confusion.

"He wanted me to believe that you were a monster, that you would you would hurt me, feed from me and use me to satisfy urges then cast me aside. But, everytime he kissed me the compulsion would evaporate, because I knew without a doubt that it wasn't you. He could do whatever he wanted to do, but if it was his goal to make me hate you he always made that one mistake because I would never forget our last, first kiss." She said as she smiled and touched his cheek.

Klaus simple placed his hand over hers and closed his eyes as he smiled back at her.

"It may have been our last, first kiss...but if you'll allow it there will be many more to come, love." He whispered as he rested his forehead against hers.

They both knew there was more to tell, but for now neither of them wanted to burst the bubble that surrounded them with warmth. There was plenty of time to deal with what had occured, for now they both wanted to hold onto whatever happiness they could grab onto.


	4. Somebody Help Me

**I do not own The Vampire Diaries or The Originals.**

**Just for clarification…**

Please note though this story will not follow the shows time line at all, Tyler is a hybrid. Any characters that are vampires on the show are vampires. They live in Mystic Falls, etc. Outside of that, while some parts of the show may come up, I am not following that time line or any events from the show since it is so far off canon, though some may come up from time to time.

For those of you who think Klaus is a bit soft, not to worry he is a bit soft where Caroline is concerned because he is afraid of scaring her or causing her harm when she is already so fragile...but, the more he learns about her time with Marcel and when Marcel finally meets Klaus face to face he's going to be hell bent on vengeance. He may have a little help for a couple of brothers we know and love along the way. Pairings are as follows.

Obviously Caroline/Klaus

Damon/Elena

Stefan/Lexie

Jeremy/Bonnie

Rebekah/Matt

Hope this helps.

Erin

* * *

_I've seen the face of my affliction  
of my reality  
I'm being tortured by the future  
of things that are yet to be  
I'm being haunted by a vision  
it's like the morning never comes_

_I feel the burden of confusion  
always searching... on the run_

_Free me  
before I slip away  
Heal me  
wake me from this day  
Can somebody help me?_

_Now, I'm not a hero... no  
but the weight of the world's is on my soul  
these imagines burn my eyes  
they're burning me up inside_

_Somebody Help Me by Full Blown Rose_

* * *

_**One Year Earlier**_

"Caroline, I need you to stay away from Klaus."

"For the last time Tyler, there is nothing going on with Klaus."

"This coming from a girl who has a drawing on her nightstand and expensive Jewelry on her dress from the man. Sue me if I don't exactly trust you here, Care."

"Look, you haven't always been perfect boyfriend material. And Klaus gave me those things when YOU ran off to god knows where, then you come back with some girl I've never met and tell me that she understands you."

"She does, Care. She's like me. She knows what I've been through, things you can't possibly understand."

"But, I want to understand Tyler. Don't you see that!" Caroline pled.

"Well, you can't. You'll never understand. I owe Klaus for releasing me from the horrible transitions, but at the same time he used me to do his bidding. He's evil and I don't want you anywhere near him, understood?" Tyler commanded.

"No! It is most certainly NOT understood! I am not yours to command." She shouted.

"Caroline you will listen to me." Tyler growled as his eyes flashed yellow.

"Klaus is evil. I can't deny that, but he wouldn't hurt me."

"Your going to have to choose, because I won't sit by and be played by the two of you."

"I choose me. I am not some rag that the two of you can tug back and forth!" She shouted.

"That's great Caroline! You can find your own way home."

"You know what, Klaus is capable of horrible things but he wouldn't just leave me here without a way home." She cried.

"Then go ahead and call him, maybe he'll take pity on you!" Tyler shouted.

"Fine."

"You stupid little girl! He will hurt you, and you will have no one to blame but yourself when he does. If you're lucky he'll just kill you, but god knows he's capable of much worse." Tyler spat as he turned to walk away from her.

Gravel sprayed up as Tyler sped away from her leaving her alone at the lookout. She stared at her phone as she tried to decide who to call. She thought about calling her mom, but she knew that her mom would talk to Carol Lockwood and that certainly wouldn't make the situation with Tyler any better. Her next thought had been Stefan, but he was probably with Elena and Damon was out of the question. That left Bonnie who was more than likely with Jeremy or her ex which was kind of awkward, 'Hi Matt...Tyler just dumped me would you mind driving up to the look out to come get me?' Yeah...that would go over really well.

After about twenty minutes had gone by, and she was certain Tyler wasn't going to come back for her she called the only person she could think to come and get her.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise." Klaus said as he greeted her.

"Please Klaus. I'm not in the mood for sarcasm. I just need you to pick me up." She said as she tried to keep her voice from shaking.

Caroline knew he would hear the distress in her voice, but she tried to hide the fact that she'd been crying anyway.

"Where are you?" He asked in a more serious tone.

Great, he totally knew she was crying. This day couldn't get any better.

"I'm at the look out." She answered.

"He left you at the look out, Caroline it's after midnight!" He growled.

"No, I just…."

"Correct me if I am wrong, but the look out is still where couples go to make out is it not?"

"Yes." She answered sheepishly.

"Then I am not wrong to assume that you were left there by Tyler Lockwood, am I?" He asked.

"No, but I really don't want to argue with you about this, too. Can you just pick me up, or not?"

"On my way, love." Klaus said as he sped towards her.

When he arrived, he sped around and opened the car door for Caroline who looked visibly chilled and she'd obviously been crying when she'd called him.

"How long have you been out here?" Klaus asked as he turned the heat up and directed the vents towards her before pulling his jacket off and handing it to her.

"Maybe an hour." She said through chattering teeth.

"Caroline, why didn't you call me right away?" He asked.

"I thought he might come back, and I didn't want him to be right."

"Right? About what?"

"He told me to call you when he left me there. We fought about you." She answered as she turned back towards the window putting an end to any further discussion on the subject.

Klaus felt a tiny smile curve over his lips as he realized that perhaps she thought better of him than he'd been led to believe. After all, she did call him.

When they arrived at her house, Klaus got out and walked her to her door.

Caroline whispered a brief thank you as she stepped through the door and started to close it before realizing she still had his jacket.

"I'm sorry, here's your coat. Thank you." She said as she looked up at him and handed it over.

When his eyes met hers, he whispered, "You're welcome."

Their eyes remained locked for what seems like an hour, until he finally leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers. When she didn't pull back of resist, he allowed his hand to slide through her hair and pull her closer until her fingers found their way into his hair.

They didn't break apart until she let go of a tiny moan that only he could have heard. When he opened his eyes, hers remained closed as her fingers found their way to her lips. Klaus could hear her heart fluttering wildly in her chest and he knew that kiss had felt as perfect to her as it had to him.

"I know Tyler was your first love, but I intend to be your last. Even if it takes a month, a year, or even a decade. I've got all the time in the world, love."

With that he gently guided her through the doorway and closed the door as she stared after him and drove away.

Caroline stood there for a few moments before she grabbed her car keys and took off. She needed some time to think.

An hour or so later, her phone buzzed and chirped with a missed call from Tyler and another from her mom. It sat untouched on the table just inside the door when her mom got home.

_**Present Day**_

Klaus watched Caroline as she slept peacefully on his bed, and thought back to the night that he'd last seen Caroline a year ago.

He remembered the conversation they'd had and he couldn't help reveling in the warmth his memory of that kiss held. It was magnified by the fact that it had been the one truth Caroline had been able to hold onto even through compulsion. It had helped her to fight, even when she was undoubtedly being compelled not to.

Unfortunately with that memory came another one. The morning after, when he'd first learned of her disappearance. He'd woken early to an angry pounding on his front door. It was the first of two interruptions he'd endured that day.

First, Tyler Lockwood came by demanding to know where Caroline was. That was easy to brush off, she wasn't there and he hadn't seen her since the night before when Tyler had abandoned her at the look out. A fact that displeased him very much, and he'd been certain to tell Tyler just how much it had displeased him. He may have even gone so far as to tell him what he might do should he mistreat Caroline in such a way in the future. The fact that she had not returned Tyler's calls did not surprise him at all.

The second interruption was a bit more disconcerting. Sheriff Forbes turned up on his doorstep holding Caroline's phone, apparently his number had shown up as the last call Caroline had made. What had been more alarming was that none of her friends had heard from her and her car was gone when her mother had arrived home from her night shift. That was when Klaus knew something was wrong.

He'd explained to Sheriff Lockwood that she had called him and how he'd picked her up and driven her home, even making sure she was securely inside the house. Sheriff Forbes had somehow read the distress in his voice, because she quickly went from accusations to a plea for help. She was well aware of the darker influences in Mystic Falls, and even that Klaus was responsible for a great deal of the things that went bump in the night, but it was impossible to miss the concern that was etched across his face or the urgency that his voice held when he explained his involvement in the prior evenings events.

She'd known she would need help finding her. The real panic didn't come until they found her car out near Wickery Bridge. That was when they'd searched for her body. A search that would prove futile, and what's worse was that only offered a tiny bit of comfort. He knew she'd been taken, and he could smell her fear in waves when they'd arrived. She had been alive and she hadn't been gone long.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a car pull into the driveway, it was probably Stefan with a daylight ring for Caroline, so he extricated himself from Caroline's grip and pulled the covers back up around her shoulders.

When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Stefan stood in the open doorway with an apologetic look. Klaus was momentarily confused when Stefan said, "She wouldn't make the ring without knowing who it was for."

Klaus simply nodded in acceptance until Elena, and Damon walked in behind Bonnie.

"And I figured, if she ended up letting you turn her something really awful must have happened." Elena said.

"I thought maybe you were going to have murder on the brain, and I love a good blood bath. Especially if the blood being spilled isn't mine. Besides, I think we've all missed Barbie."

Klaus nodded and waved a hand inviting them in.

"She doesn't know you're a vampire, Elena, and I'm also willing to be she has no idea that you switched to Team Damon either."

"I guess a lot has changed in a year." Elena said.

"It's changed even more for her, so lets keep the bomb shell revelations to a minimum until she's had a chance to acclimate." Klaus offered as he watched the two women climb the stairs towards Caroline..

He was annoyed by the additional house guests, but at least they could help to keep Caroline occupied while he made one very important phone call.

Klaus waved to Stefan and Damon as he headed out to the gardens behind the estate out of earshot from the witch and two newbie vampires.

"I need your phone." Klaus said as he held a hand out.

It didn't matter whose phone, as long as it wasn't his. He wanted to surprise the bastard.

When Stefan held out his phone, Klaus grabbed it and dialed. It was answered on the first ring.

"What can the King do for you?" answered the familiar voice.

"You can sit tight and wait in fear for me to come and find you, because when I find you, and I will I'm going to slowly pull every bone from your flesh and then heal you until I feel that I've returned the pain caused by every mark on Ms. Forbes' body ten times over. When I get bored of that, I'll compel you to self inflict each of those wounds on yourself again, and finally I'm going to tear your heart out and force feed it to you as I watch you desiccate and die!" Klaus spat.

"I see you recieved my present? You'll have to excuse me, but I didn't have time to put a bow on it." Marcel said with a confident laugh.

* * *

**Evil...I know. **

**:)**

**Thanks for all of the reviews and messages. As always, they are appreciated.**

**Erin **


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